Contaminated cannabis
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Reports of contaminated skunk in the UK are increasing, the contaminated cannabis is recognisable by a gritty texture in the mouth, on close examination the buds are coated in small glass beads with a high silica content.
On 16 January 2007 the Department of Health issued an urgent alert to all NHS Primary Care Trusts titled "Contamination of Herbal or 'skunk-type' Cannabis with Glass Beads".
Medical
Consumption can cause a sore mouth, mouth ulcers, chesty persistent coughs, and a tight chest lasting a few days after use. Frequent use may cause silicosis.
Reasons for Contamination
The substance is sprayed on to add weight to the cannabis increasing the suppliers profits.
Following police raids during the summer of 2006 (Operation Kaymer) against large scale grow operations and individuals cultivating cannabis, there was a nationwide shortage of cannabis in the UK for the first time in a great number of years. Within weeks there were reports of contaminated herbal cannabis being sold which contained grit.
What to look out for
- Look out for grit traces caught between your teeth during or after smoking a spliff
- Increased coughing and restricted feeling on the chest
- Increased mucus
- Grit traces in your mouth the night after smoking, this is the body trying to cleanse itself!
As well as grit or glass, sugar has also been making an appearance in cannabis. Suger contaminated weed can be detected by a caremalized scent left behind after smoking, and by the ash forming a solid lump at the end of the joint rather than a loose powder. Although smoking sugar is evidently less dangerous than smoking glass it should still be avoided, taking into account that without specialist equipment you cannot be sure what the contaminat contains, and may still have glass in it.
Testing for Cannabis Contamination
From a distance, the small glass beads could be mistaken for THC, so the best (unscientific) way to test if your cannabis has been contaminated by grit is lick your finger and press down on the bud, now lick your finger again, if its gritty then your bud is contaminated.
There is no information on other types of cannabis such as resin
[edit] External links
- Talk To Frank article
- Department of Health urgent cannabis contamination warning
- Contaminated cannabis/grit weed videos on You Tube
- Images from electron microscope (Cannabis Pragmatism)
- Warning issued over cannabis adulterated with glass beads (The Guardian)
- Health Alert: Contamination of herbal cannabis (UK Indymedia)
- Police in Plymouth discovered batch of cannabis contaminated with glass (BBC)
- Several cannabis users taken ill after smoking cannabis contaminated with glass (BBC)
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